Rohit Sharma’s unit is all geared up against a Najmul Hossain Shanto-led outfit in a Super 8 match of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and Barbuda’s Saint George on June 22.
India’s Roadmap to Semis
India, fresh from its convincing 47-run victory over the Afghans in the opening Super 8 match on 20 June in Barbados, will now look to stitch out a grinding win that eases them through toward the semifinals. This should be a must-win match for Bangladesh if they hope to stay in this competition, after their five-wicket defeat by Australia in their first Super 8 match.
Historical Edge
History says that in the T20 World Cup, the record for India against Bangladesh was very solid. All the previous four matches went in favor of the Indian squad. Still Mamma’s call is for the weather God only.
Weather Concerns
According to Accuweather, the chances of thunderstorms have been predicted between 10 AM to 11 AM local time and 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM IST, thus literally meaning that the rain probabilities range from anywhere between 46 percent to 51 percent. If not precisely a full washout, the humidity was around 80 percent with the sky limitedly cloudy as the evening went by.
Effect of a Washed-Out Match
The result will take India to the top of the standings for the time being. If rain plays spoilsport, both teams will share a point each. But it will keep their progress to the semi-finals far from secured. In order to seal the spot, India needs to win against Australia in their third Super 8 match on 24 June. If India loses to Australia and Bangladesh beats Afghanistan in their Super 8 match, then India will not manage to scrape through to the semi-finals.
India Squads
1. Rohit Sharma (c)
2. Shikhar Dhawan
3. Virat Kohli
4. Rishabh Pant (wk)
5. Suryakumar Yadav
6. Hardik Pandya
7. Ravindra Jadeja
8. Axar Patel
9. Deepak Chahar
10. Mohammad Shami
11. Jasprit Bumrah
Hence, the weather becomes one of the crucial factors deciding the winner of the India-Bangladesh Super 8 match. In a way, though India has these compensations of history and the interruptions in this tournament; literally all bets are off and all will hang on the next game against Australia. On 22nd June, just as keenly everyone will be checking to see how open those skies will be.
